(FORTUNE Magazine) – As Americans tuned in to public television's nine-part epic The Civil War, the Institute for Southern Studies, a nonprofit research group in Durham, North Carolina, released a report that shows the South is much unhealthier than the North as a place to live. The institute measured all 50 states by 35 criteria, including their environmental laws and how strictly they are enforced, environmental spending per capita, and the number of factories that emit hazardous waste. (For the winners, see table.) Says Robert Hall, director of research at the institute: ''The South not only has become the nation's biggest waste dump but the results also show the region has a disproportionate share of hazardous jobs and industries spewing cancer-causing chemicals into the air.'' The winners offer a better balance between the desire for economic prosperity and for protecting the environment, Hall says. California's air pollution -- much of it from cars -- dragged the otherwise environmentally minded state to 11th place. But it has adopted regulations that will improve the atmosphere. Far tougher than the clean air act before Congress, the state requirements are aimed at reducing auto pollution by up to 84% by the year 2003. Meanwhile, New York (No. 12) has tightened its emission standards for 1993 vehicles. By 1995, seven Northeastern states are expected to set similar limits.

BOX: BEST ENVIRONMENT

1. Vermont 2. Massachusetts 3. Minnesota 4. Rhode Island 5. Connecticut 6. Wisconsin 7. Hawaii 8. New Hampshire 9. Oregon 10. Maine WORST 50. Alabama

SOURCE: INSTITUTE FOR SOUTHERN STUDIES